PETA praises Sovran for glue trap ban

Sovran Self Storage is winning praise from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for banning the use of sticky glue traps to kill mice at its Uncle Bob’s self-storage facilities.

Sovran is the first self-storage chain to stop using glue traps and to ban them from the 471 stores that it operates in 25 states, PETA said.

To recognize Sovran’s efforts, PETA said it is giving the Amherst-based firm a “Compassionate Company Award” and “a big box of vegan chocolates shaped like mice.”

“By signing PETA’s pledge, Uncle Bob’s has spared countless mice, birds, and other small and vulnerable animals a terrifying and painful end,” said Daphna Nachminovitch, a PETA senior vice president, in a statement Wednesday.

Glue traps are pieces of plastic or cardboard that are coated with a strong adhesive. The traps, used exclusively indoors, catch small animals, such as rodents or birds, that come in contact with the sticky surface and then are unable to move. PETA said some animals chew off their own limbs in an attempt to escape, while others can struggle to free themselves for days, often dying from shock, dehydration or other injuries.

Sovran joins a number of companies, from banker ING Barings to brokerage firm Charles Schwab, that have banned the use of glue traps.

Sovran’s use of glue traps at one of its Uncle Bob’s self-storage facilities in Chesapeake, Va., had been the subject of an online petition at the forcechange.org website that attracted 640 online signatures.